Self-energized zipper seal



Sept. 10, 1963 Filed Jan. 5, 1960 Fly.

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Sept. 10, 1963 F. IWATSUKI 3,103,051

SELF-ENERGIZED ZIPPER SEAL Filed Jan. 5, 1960 5 SheetsSheet 2 IN V ENTOR. FHA N IVVA T5 010 A35 BY CLOS/A/G 1/22;

ATmA/Em 7" 3,103,051 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 3,103,051 SELF-ENERGIZEDZIPPER SEAL Frank Iwatsuhi, Evanston, IlL, assignor to the United Statesof America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force Filed Jan.5, 1960, Ser. No. 675 3 Claims. (Cl. 24205.1)

tes Patent Oce This invention relates to a closure for garments, or

any' fabric container, employing the well-known zipper principle. It ismore particularly concerned with a type of zipper closure which sealsthe garment against leakage of air, gas or liquid by means of aself-energizing action.

The ordinary zipper forms a convenient, easy to use and satisfactoryclosure for garments and the like, but it is not air or watertight, andwhere an airtight or Waterproof inclosure is required it is useless.There have been attempts at devising zipper closures which were air andwatertight, but they failed where the lips of the sealing members partunder twisting or torsion of the seal.

It is an object of this invention to provide an airtight closure forfabric garments or the like employing the convenience of the commonzipper.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a fluid tight closureof the convenientv zipper type for fabric containers employing a closuremeans which is selfenergizing.

It is a further object to provide a fluid tight closure in which thesealing surfaces are supported by metal parts.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a fluid tight ciosureof the zipper type for fabric containers wherein the initial closureaction is sufiicient for sealing and the closure action is supplementedby a self-energizing effect where the fabric of the container is flexedby inflation or by pressure from the outside. v

It is a further object to provide a zipper type closure for fabriccontainers which is fluid tight and in which the sealing material issubject to no tensile forces, thus permitting a wider choice of sealingmaterials.

It is a further object to provide a fluid tight zipper closure Where endsealing and abrasion problems are eliminated by having the slideroutside of the seal.

It is still a further object to provide a fluid tight closure asdescribed which is easy to open or close by eliminating friction inproviding a small sealing surface and avoiding contact by the sliderwith the fabric or seal material.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a closure as describedwhich is easy to use and can be economically manufactured ofreadily-obtainable materials.

Briefly, this invention is a convenient zipper structure in which themeshing scoops or teeth are pivoted near the center of vertical arms ofL-shaped fingers, the vertical arms being attached above the pivotpoints to the fabric of a garment. A sealing material is attached to theunderside of the garment and to the inner edge of the lower part of theL-shaped fingers, allowing for looseness of the sealing material betweenpoints of attachment. As the slider of the zipper is moved in closingmotion the scoops are engaged as in the conventional zipper and thelower arms of each row of fingers press against each other forming aninitial seal. As the garment is inflated the stress on the fabric causesthe fingers to swing about the pivots, thereby increasing the sealingaction.

'Any stress on the garment fabric from the outside will cause the sameself-energizing action to increase the pressure on the sealing medium. 1a

The above and still other objects, advantages and features of myinvention will become apparent upon consideration of the followingdetailed description of one embodiment thereof, especially when taken inconjunction with the acompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional front view showing the assembly of the parts;

FIGURE 2 is atop plan view of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of a portion of FIGURE 2showing details of the scoops and fingers;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view illustrating the right and left handfingers;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic drawing showing the forces and relation of theslider, scoops and fingers;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic drawing showing the forces in play due to fabrictension when the garment is inflated;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of the slider;

FIGURE 8 is a side view of the slider;

FIGURE 9 is a bottom view of the slider;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional front view showing the assembly ofthe partsofasecond embodiment ofthe invention;

FIGURE 11 is an isometric drawing of one of the fingers of the secondembodiment of the invention show ing the scoop made integral with thefinger;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of a scoop showing the FIGURE 13 is aschematic drawing showing the forces and relation of the slider, scoopand fingers of the second embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 14 is a schematic drawing showing the forces in play due tofabric tension when the garment is inflated.

In the drawings, best seen in FIGURES l and 2, a slide fastener 10, towhich is attached a pull ring 12, closes or opens a pair of a series ofL-shaped metal fingers 16. The fingers are pivoted, at 24 to scoops orteeth'14 which mesh in the well-known zipper manner as the slidefastener is pulled alongthe said pair of fingers. Stops 31 arepositioned on fingers 16 so as to hold loosely the scoops 14 withinpredetermined limits, so that they will be free to pivot on 24 andnot'fall out of line. The pivot 24 maybe a length of wire runningthrough the arms of the fingers 16 and the said scoops. The upper armsof the L-shaped fingers are attached at 26 to a fabric strip 20 which isin turn attached, by glueing or other suitable means, to a garmentfabric 21. A sealing material, 22, is attached to the fabric tape 20 at19 and to the bottom edge of the metal fingers 16 at the sealing edge ofsaid fingers at 18. The sealing material 2.2 is attached between points18 and 19 so as to provide looseneszs between the points of attachmentto prevent any strain on said sealing material when the garment fabric21 (only a portion of which is shown) is put under tension by inflationor otherwise. i

The initial closure action is best seen by the action of the forces asillustrated by the arrowed lines in the schematic drawing FIGURE 5. Asthe slider 10 is moved in the closing direction the upper arms of thefingers 16 move through the slider slots toward each other while thescoops 14 are forced into engagement by the combined action of upperslide slots 11 and a lower slide plate 28, the pivot 24 and upper stops30. The self-energizing action of this closure is shown schematically inFIGURE 6. It can be seen that as the upper part of the fingers arepulled apart by stress on the garment: fabric at 26 the lower closingedge of the slide fastener is shown as 41, the fingers at 18 will beforced together more tightly by the lever action on the arms acting onthe pivot point 24 as a fulcrum, thus increasing the sealing action.

The detail of the fingers and scoops or teeth can be seen best in FIGURE4 and the assembly of them in FIGURE 3. The slide fastener is shown inFIGURES 7, 8 and 9, where the upper slide slots 11, the lower slideplate 28 and the cam action of the slider appear.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGURES 10,

of the common zipper.

i ll, 12, 13 and 14. In these figures, the same numbers refer to thesame parts as shown in the first embodiment except the fingers and thescoops are shown'as 17 and 15, respectively, and the pivot has beenmoved from the center of theupright arm of the L-shaped finger to theslide fastener 41 is moved forward. The pivots 15, shown in detail inFIG. 12,having pivot points 25 on one side and pivot receptacles 23 onthe other, mesh as the tops of the arms move together by the cam actionof the slide fastener 41. The forces involved in this action are shownby the arrows in FIGURE 13 and the self-energizing action when thefabric is stressed by inflation or otherwise is shown by the arrows inFIGURE 14.

It is clear from the foregoing description and from the drawings thatthis invention has all the advantages As the slide fastener is moved upthe scoops mesh and provide the usual closing action associated withzippers. This closing action also serves to bring the closing edges ofthe fingers together, forming a fluid tight closure as the sealingmaterial is pressed between the said fingers. This closure becomes moresecure by the self energizing action of the invention as stress is puton the fabric of the garment by inflation or otherwise.

Although the invention has been described with-reference to particularembodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that theinvention is capable of a variety of alternative embodiments within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: r

1. A self-energizing'zipper for closing an opening in an inflatableenclosure, comprising two rows of mutually opposed zipper teeth, a'pairof rows of L-shaped fingers,

fingers having anupper arm and a mating edge, means securing said upperarms of said fingers to the enclosure sealing means attached to saidenclosure and to the lower mating edges of said L-shaped fingers, aslider engaging the upper arms of said fingers and arranged to mesh thesaid teeth of said zipper and to close said fingers against the saidsealing means to form a fluid tight seal such that pressure inside saidinflatable enclosure causes an energizing pivotal movement of saidfingers to cause said fingers into a fluid tight sealing relationship.

2. A self-energizing zipper for closing an opening in an inflatableenclosure, comprising two rows of mutually opposed zipper teeth, a pairof rows of L-shaped fingers, means for pivotally mounting each tooth ofeach row of teeth with a finger of a row of fingers, each of saidfingers having an upper arm and a mating edge and being pivotal about anaxis oriented in the direction of said rows, means securing said upperarms of said fingers to the enclosure to be closed at a point above thepivotal axes of said fingers, a sealing means attached to said enclosureand to the lower mating edges of said L-shaped fingers, and a sliderengaging the upper arms of said fingers and arranged to mesh the saidteeth of said zipper and to close said fingers against the said sealingmeans to form a fluid tight seal such that pressure inside saidinflatable enclosure causes an energizing pivotal movement of saidfingers to cause said fingers into a fluid tight sealing relationship.

3. An improved zipper arrangement as described in claim 2, wherein upperand lower stops are provided on to be closed at a point above saidpivotal mounting, a

said fingers to limit excessive pivotal movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,296,468 Feist Sept. 22, 1942 2,306,873 Feist Dec. 29, 1942 2,637,086Philips May 5, 1953 2,651,091 Priestley Sept. 8, 1953 2,762,047 Flagg etal. Sept. 11, 1956 2,853,758 Topf Sept. 30, 1958 2,888,727 HeimbergerJune 2, 1959 2,928,127 Armstrong Mar. 15, 1960 3,026,589 Sperry Mar. 27,1962 3,082,501 Brown Mar. 26, 1963

1. A SELF-ENERGIZING ZIPPER FOR CLOSING AN OPENING IN AN INFLATABLEENCLOSURE, COMPRISING TWO ROWS OF MUTUALLY OPPOSED ZIPPER TEETH, A PAIROF ROWS OF L-SHAPED FINGERS, MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING EACH TOOTH OFEACH ROW OF TEETH WITH A FINGER OF A ROW OF FINGERS, EACH OF SAIDFINGERS HAVING AN UPPER ARM AND A MATING EDGE, MEANS SECURING SAID UPPERARMS OF SAID FINGERS TO THE ENCLOSURE TO BE CLOSED AT A POINT ABOVE SAIDPIVOTAL MOUNTING, A SEALING MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID ENCLOSURE AND TO THELOWER MATING EDGES OF SAID L-SHAPED FINGERS, A SLIDER ENGAGING THE UPPERARMS OF SAID FINGERS AND ARRANGED TO MESH THE SAID TEETH OF SAID ZIPPERAND TO CLOSE SAID FINGERS AGAINST THE SAID SEALING MEANS TO FORM A FLUIDTIGHT SEAL SUCH THAT PRESSURE INSIDE SAID INFLATABLE ENCLOSURE CAUSES ANENERGIZING PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID FINGERS TO CAUSE SAID FINGERS INTO AFLUID TIGHT SEALING RELATIONSHIP.